People Who Change You
by Battery Powered Witch
Summary: What if Elio Pearlman and Peter Graham from Hereditary shared a dorm room at university? The crossover no one asked for! A year after his summer with Oliver, Elio starts university. He's apprehensive about rooming with someone, especially this strange boy called Peter who doesn't speak much and sleepwalks. (Modern Day setting.)
1. Roommates

**Author's Note:** Canon complaints - I've changed the Call Me By Your Name setting to modern day as it made more sense than trying to set Hereditary in the 80's. I've put Oliver in as a character as he is mentioned a lot but doesn't actually appear. Sorry to disappoint! :O I'm also going with a different ending to Hereditary - changing everything that happens after Peter jumps out the window - and being more ambiguous about what happened before that. Annie and Steve are still alive in this version.

After Oliver there had been Peter. But this was someone Elio never talked about; only once to Marzia and that had only been because of her knack of coaxing information out of him. It wasn't that he had loved him more than Oliver; he probably hadn't loved him at all; it was more the way that it ended had left Elio forever changed. Elio had always managed to find the beauty in the world; to get joy in tiny moments; to maintain a generally positive outlook. He was an optimistic person; though when he returned back to Italy after his first college year in New York; he was sure he'd shed that optimism forever; knowing now it had been nothing but naivete.

They hadn't liked each other much at first. Elio balked at having to share such intimate space with someone; and when he first laid eyes on Peter Graham - a boy from Utah with scruffy dark hair and an uninspired dress sense; whatever hopes he'd harboured of meeting someone who'd make him forget about Oliver were immediately dashed. Elio tried in the beginning, but Peter was often withdrawn and difficult. He spent a lot of time alone on his laptop; though sometimes Elio got the feeling he wasn't actually doing anything, just staring into the space ahead of him. While Elio dove into college life in order to get over his apprehension; Peter stood back, only ever skulking around the edges at parties and never really getting involved. Elio went through many different theories about the boy. At first he gave him the benefit of the doubt; thinking he was merely shy. But his general behaviour was odd. Elio had asked about a bizarre and slightly unsettling figurine on his shelf; it was made from wood and twine, and sort of resembled a bird.

'Where did you get that?'

'Charlie made it for my birthday once,' he answered easily, then appeared as though he'd said too much.

'Who's Charlie?'

'My sister.'

Elio frowned. 'I didn't know you had a sister.'

'I don't anymore,' Peter replied, almost to himself, then went to the bathroom, closing the en-suite door behind him.

Another time they waited at the subway together amongst a group of other students. Peter stood close to the edge of the platform, not moving when a train passed; as if part of him wanted to it to hit him.

Elio's later thoughts were far less forgiving; his roommate didn't say a whole lot; and when he did it was usually so cynical and nihilistic it brought his mood down. He surmised then that maybe Peter was just a dick. The discomfort between them came to a head towards the end of the first month, when a disagreement about a care package from Peter's mother devolved into something worse.

'What's your deal?' Peter had asked.

'What?' Elio replied, caught off guard.

'Why are you defending my mom?'

'I'm not,' he replied, dumbfounded that as to where Peter had gotten such an idea from when all Elio had said was that it was nice of his mother to send him something, store bought cookies or not.

'You don't even know her and you automatically take her side.'

'Her side in what? What are you talking about?'

'Nothing, just forget it,' Peter said, and he switched off again, taking his phone out of his pocket and exploring it's many apps.

After that there was simple avoidance; no words exchanged between them at all if possible. Then the nightmare happened; Elio being woken by a panicked, visceral scream and the loud thump that accompanied his roommate hitting the floor.  
He sat up and turned his bedside lamp on, startled. 'You ok?'

'What happened?'

'You were screaming,' Elio said, the stench of urine hitting him, both him and Peter realising at the same time what had happened.

'Shit,' Peter said, attempting to get up, getting caught in his sheets and stumbling, trying again. Elio looked away, cringing with secondhand embarrassment; still startled by the whole affair. Peter began pulling his sheets off the bed.

'What are you doing?'

'Going to the laundry.'

'It's after two in the morning.'

'Do you want to sleep in a room that smells like piss?'

Elio said nothing more, left him to it. Peter went to change in the bathroom, though he could hear through those thin walls the suppressed sobs of someone who did not want to be heard.


	2. Video

Between that incident and the video; it became clear to Elio that there was more to Peter than just being antisocial. He'd heard the rumours before he's seen it; eventually someone sent it to him. He sat one day, watching the grainy cell phone footage of his roommate in a classroom, his body contorting into unnatural poses until he slammed his face into his desk, hard enough to break his nose; the screams that followed peaking the sound on Elio's crappy laptop speakers. He closed the video; shaken.

Not long after the sleep walking started, though Elio only realised that's what it was when he woke one night to find his roommate standing at the end of his bed, gazing down at him.

'What the fuck?' Elio yelled, startled, sitting up.

Peter didn't react, scaring him further. Elio grabbed something from his bedside table - his phone - and threw it into the corner of the room. The noise was enough to startle Peter out of his fugue state.

'What are you doing?' he asked, warily. His roommate looked around, as if only just realising where he was.

'I- I dunno, I was asleep, did I sleepwalk?' he asked.

'Yeah, you were just standing there.'

'Shit, sorry,' he said, then got back into his own bed. Elio didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

'I'm not crazy,' Peter said one evening, apparently he'd been made aware of the video from his school days doing the rounds on campus.

'I didn't think that you were,' Elio replied for reassurance, though even he wasn't fooled by his own declaration.

'Sure,' Peter scoffed, sitting down on his bed, defeated. He stared ahead, that far away look in his eyes that he often wore. Words of comfort were needed of course; but Elio didn't know what they were, or how to channel his father and figure it out.

'Was it a seizure or...?' Elio asked, knowing he shouldn't but unable to stop himself.

'That's what the doctors claim. They also say I sometimes have delusions and PTSD.'

'You think they're wrong?' Elio asked, sitting on his own bed opposite Peter.

Peter said nothing, lost in his own world.

There were crumbs of information Elio had pieced together, and from that he managed to find something he thought had the potential to be helpful.

'I had a friend once, her name was Vimini; she was this really smart kid; used to come to our house all the time. She died over the summer, I know it's not the same as a sister but-'

'Was it your fault?' Peter cut across.

'What? No. She was sick, she'd always been sick.'

'Then I don't think you can relate,' he replied coldly, getting up from his bed and exiting the room.


	3. Sleep

There was another sleepwalking incident, this time it was stubbing his toe off the bedroom door that woke Peter. He then began his sleep deprivation phase to counteract it, coming home early one day; interrupting the only time of the week when Elio knew he was guaranteed some peace and quiet. He explained he'd been kicked out of class for falling asleep.

'I don't care if you sleepwalk,' Elio told him bluntly; regardless of how uneasy he had been by Peter's sleeping form standing over him.

'I do,' Peter replied, as if Elio thinking it had anything to do with him was the height of arrogance. 'I don't know what I might do.'

'What's the worse that could happen?' Elio replied, thinking this was a tad dramatic as he turned around to face his roommate.  
Peter pulled his sneakers off one by one.

'I could cover you in paint thinner and light a match,' he said.

Elio rolled his eyes. 'I somehow doubt that.'

'My mom sleepwalks, she did that once. Do you wanna risk it?' he replied, his voice carrying a vague threat in it.

Elio was stunned into silence.

'Thought so,' Peter replied, taking his phone out and sitting back against the bed.

For another two days Peter dragged himself around, surviving on coffee, eyes bloodshot, dark bags beneath them, leaving him a picture of permanent exhaustion.

'You just gonna stay awake forever? That's the plan?' Elio asked him one evening when he sat slumped at his desk, staring at the bright screen.

'What do you care?' he asked.

'I don't, I just look forward to seeing you fail.'

Peter ignored this, though sat determinedly straighter when he turned back to the computer making Elio smirk. When he returned that evening, Peter was finally asleep, he lay on top of his bed in his clothes at an awkward angle, his phone on his chest, as though he just nodded off while using it. Elio was tempted to wake him simply to gloat but then thought better of it. He let his dorm mate sleep and found he was still in the same position the next morning when he was getting ready for class.

'Sleep well?' he asked when the other boy's eyes fluttered opened and he gazed around sleepily.

'How long was I out?' he asked in a groggy voice.

'Maybe sixteen hours?'

'What? What time is it?' he replied, jumping up. His phone fell and he picked it up, then stood. 'I had class an hour ago! Why didn't you wake me?'

'I don't know your schedule,' Elio replied, frowning as his roommate raced around the dorm and out the door; whatever empathy he'd had for him evaporated.


	4. Night

There was a weekend in Novemeber when Peter was meant to go home. It was the one night Elio could actually bring someone back to his own dorm instead of having to ask to go to their place. There had only been two girls thus far in the year, and Albert was the first guy he'd taken an interest in. They'd moved to Elio's bed without turning the light on in the room, Albert being the first to notice the lump in the opposite bed.

'Peter?' Elio asked, hoping that something like luck was on his side and his roommate was in a deep sleep.

'What?' he asked.

'Why aren't you at home?' Elio asked, exasperatated and mortified in equal measures.

'I changed my mind,' he replied.

Elio looked at his would-be lover who looked fit to burst with the laughter he was holding in. He escorted him out of the room and apologised profusely many times before Albert went on his way, saying they would try again another time.

Elio climbed into his own bed, both furious and humiliated, wanting to strangle Peter for his constant presense. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, wishing to sink into the matress and be swallowed whole.

'Are you like, gay?' Peter's voice came out of the ether to ask.

 _Are you fucking kidding me?_ Elio thought to himself.

'Do you have a problem with that?' he replied.

'No, no of course not, I just didn't know. I mean it's cool if you are, I don't care I-'

'I'm not exclusively,' he replied, as much to cut off this painfully rambling sentence as much as anything else.

'Oh, right.' Peter replied.

There was silence between them.

'Why didn't you go home?' Elio asked, trying to keep the resentment out of his voice and failing.

'I couldn't. Mom's there.'

'What's up with you and your Mom?'

Peter said nothing for a long time; he shouldn't have asked, he'd known that beforehand, but yet he did it anyway.

'We just bring out the worst in each other.'

Elio was surprised by his sudden openess. He half wondered how far he could push it. 'Why?'

'I don't know. Always have. She liked Charlie better.'

'What happened to her?' Elio asked, knowing if any question was to hit the trip wire to make Peter shut down again, it would be this one.

Elio got the feeling he wasn't going to say anymore. He sat up in his bed, looked across at his roomate who was starting ahead at the ceiling. He said nothing, allowing Peter to speak in his own time; or not at all. The more time that passed, the more the latter seemed most likely. Elio became a little worried by his roommate's ongoing silence.

'Peter?' he asked, turning the bedside lamp on, to find that the other boy's eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

'Shit man, sorry, I didn't meant to-' Elio began as the other boy covered his face, crying silently.

Elio worked on pure instinct as he got out of his own bed and went to comfort the other boy. He knelt beside his bed and gently touched his shoulder, Peter melted into his touch, allowing himself to be pulled into a hug. Elio moved from this awkward position and sat against the head of Peter's bed, his roomate crying into his shoulder uncontrollably, scaring him a little.

'It's ok,' he said gently, every now and then, stroking his back they way his mother would him when he was upset.

Eventually Peter pulled back, getting a hold of himself, he wiped his eyes, Elio grabbed a tissue from the beside table and passed it to him.

Peter blew his nose and stared ahead.

'I don't know how to be normal,' he said queitly, in a defeated voice after a moment.

'There is no such thing,' Elio replied.

Peter turned to him with a look Elio recognised; it was the same one he gave Marcia when she told him she loved him after he'd just said goodbye to Oliver for the last time. It's a look reserved for those who couldn't possibly comprehend just how out of touch and meaningless their words are.

'I was driving. I just went home because I didn't know what else to do and I couldn't tell them. Mom found her, found her body in the back of the car the next morning.'

Elio blinked, finding it almost difficult to breathe.

'How do you come back from that? What am I supposed to do now?'

He watched Peter, suddenly feeling ashmed of every ill thought he'd ever had about him.

'I'm so sorry. That's horrifying.'

Peter blinked, then turned away. 'I wanna go to sleep.'

Elio got out of the bed and went back to his own, laying down and turning over. He wasn't able to get to sleep for over an hour. He got the feeling Peter lay there gazing at the ceiling until morning.


	5. Bonding

'Is that why you have PTSD?' Elio asked, months later when they'd returned from the winter break.

'What do you think?' Peter replied coldly.

What their relationship had lost in frostiness, it had gained in awkwardness immediately following the night Peter had told him about the accident. They'd entered that uncomfortable phase Elio had shared many a time with his straight male friends, where he'd witnessed a vulnearable moment but now had to carry on as though such a thing had never happened to save face. Christ, masculinity was exhausting. Once again they were lying in bed when this conversation occured as though the only way they could speak openly was when eye contact was impossible.

'What about that video? Has that got anything to do with it?' Elio asked, knowing how nosey he was being, but too curious not to ask.

Peter sighed. 'Juries still out on that one, officially.'

'But unofficially?'

'You'd think I'm nuts if I told you.'

'I won't judge.'

'You will, trust me.'

Elio relented, they fell into a silence, he turned over, closed his eyes and drifted off, forgetting about it.

It became a friendship of sorts, as spring began to near. They talked more, moving from a tolerance of each other to a more genuine connection. Sometimes they played videogames together, watched a movie. Though he'd never admit it; Elio got the feeling Peter felt a little lighter having shared his secret. Elio understood now whenever he had could be considered 'an episode' and was willing to help him through it. One day he even told him about Oliver.

'Do you still talk?'

Elio shook his head. 'We thought it would be better if we didn't. I didn't want to be facebook friends and just send each other memes every now and then.'

Peter laughed, 'You look him up though right?'

'So I can torture myself looking at pictures of him with his wife? No thanks.'

'I wish I had your willpower. I still have a look at what Bridget's doing sometimes. Not like, a lot, but every now and then.'

Elio nodded, internally annoyed that Peter could think a petty school boy crush was in anyway comparable to the romance he'd had, but he kept this to himself.

It surprised them both when it happened, as neither of them had any intention, certainly not Peter who had never considered himself anything other than entirely straight. Elio had been rearranging his bookshelf when Peter sat back from his laptop, muttering 'fuck,' under his breath.

'What happened?' Elio asked.

'I failed another assignment. Have to repeat in the summer.'

'That sucks, what went wrong?'

Peter shrugged. 'I don't know. Shit, Dad's gonna be pissed.'

'He'll understand.'

'Unlike Mom who'll think I'm doing it on purpose so I don't have to come home this summer,' he said, getting up and plonked onto his bed, he sat, hunched over and staring at the ground.

'Wanna play Mortal Kombat?' Elio asked, having learned that vintage video games tended to have the affect of cheering Peter up.

He shook his head. 'I need to study so I don't get kicked out of this stupid place,' he said, then made no effort whatsoever to move.

Elio picked up a load of dusty books, finding an old sock puppet he'd been given by Mafalda last Hanukkah squashed beneath them. He put the books down and put the puppet on his hand, turning to Peter with it. He touched his index finger to this thumb, then parted them, giving the effect of the puppets mouth opeing and closing. He then wound his hand towards Peter, as though the puppet was swimming his his direction.

'You just gonna sit there and mope while there's a perfectly annoying kids toy right in front of your face?' Elio said, waving the puppet around, opening its mouth before Peter's face.

The other boy rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself.

Elio sat down beside him, making the puppet kiss his cheek.

'Remember Bridget? Well this is her hotter older sister who just happens to want a piece of you,' Elio joked, making the puppet kiss Peter once more.

Peter gently swatted the puppet away a with grin. Elio lowered his hand upon seeing it had had the desired effect. He looked at his friend, really noticing for the first time that he was handsome enough when he took better care of himself. His brain had taken a vacation when he leaned over and pecked Peter's lips. Stranger still was the other boys reaction, he simply sat, then turned his head towards Elio, eyes falling from his eyes back down to his lips, as if daring him to do it again.

So he did, for longer this time, and not a peck but a proper kiss.

They didn't break apart for a while, probably because if they did they'd realise the insanity of this situation.

Elio moved lowered his mouth to Peter's neck, his hands too wandering further south.

'Wait,' Peter said, making him pause. 'I've never-'

Elio cut across to save him the embarrassment. 'I know you've never been with a guy before, it's ok.'

'No I- I've never been with anyone,' Peter admitted, surprising him. He tried to hide this, but got the feeling he was failing. His roomate blushed with embarrassment.

'I probably would have been if everything hadn't gone to shit.'

'It's alright,' Elio said, suddenly aware of who this was and how awkward this was bound to get afterwards. But if the awkwardness was inevitible then he at least wanted to get some kind of pleasure out of it first. 'I mean, if you still want to-'

Peter answered him with a kiss.

It got weird afterwards; neither of them knowing how to behave. It occured to Elio that maybe Peter didn't need to question his sexuality on top of everything else he was dealing with. Elio didn't want a relationship, that much was clear; and certainly not with someone he roomed with. It wasn't like it had been with Oliver, and of course he'd known that would be the case; but it still surprised him somehow. So he and Peter carried on as normal, or as close to normal as they could seem to manage; though some nights one or the other of them would crawl into the other's bed.

This was nothing like love, Elio knew when he lay next to Peter, getting to be the big spoon for once which he never could with Oliver, breathing in the scent of him, running his hands through his dark, curly hair. Need described it more accurately. Though more than a year had passed, Elio could still find himself with an acute sense of heartbreak when he thought about Oliver and how the two of them could never go back to what they'd had. He didn't want to fall in love again in some ways, as if it would be a betrayal to the memory to feel that way about someone else. But the sense of loneliness was much worse than it had ever been before he'd known Oliver to begin with. Sometimes he just needed someone to fill that void; the same way Peter just needed someone to care about and listen to him.

'So what happened?' Marzia asked. 'Does it always have to end in tragedy for you?'

Elio smiled, that glum, sad smile.


	6. Call

Peter was doing ok for a while; he became determined to succeed at college and put all the drama with his family behind him. That was until one day when he received a call from his mom which shook him up. He wouldn't tell Elio anything about it apart from, 'she said they found me.'

'Who found you?'

Peter shook his head. 'But they're not real, Dad says they're not real. Mom's just losing it.'

Elio said nothing but sat next to Peter, gently stroking his shoulder; feeling way out of his depth.

'When she loses it I lose it. I don't want to see all that shit again,' he said, subconconciously touching the scar on his nose.

'You won't,' Elio rassured him, kissing the scar; Peter clung to him; shaking, almost like a child.

He became erratic after the call; not sleeping again, having nightmares when he did sleep; and kept talking about a blue light that he kept seeing everywhere.

'Didn't you see it?' he demanded of Elio one evening.

'No, there's nothing there,' Elio replied. 'You're starting to scare me.'

Peter sat on the bed. 'What if she's right?' he asked. 'What if it's all true and we're not going crazy?'

Elio said nothing, growing more uneasy by the minute.

'Mom said it's because of grandma, that she made us part of some ritual and they're after me.'

'Why would your mom tell you that?' Elio said, sitting down.

'To warn me, so I know what I'm in for.'

'And what's that?'

Peter shrugged, then took out his phone, passed it to Elio. He'd opened a photo of a page from a book, a passage near the bottom highlighted; mentioning a 'male host.' Uneasy chills passed down Elio's spine.

'Where did you get this?' he asked, passing the phone back.

'Mom sent it, it's one of Grandma's books.'

'She told you that?'

Peter nodded.

'How do you know she didn't just buy this book and highlight it herself?'

Peter looked away. 'I told you about that dream didn't I? The one with the strangers in the attic, and Mom chasing me?'

Elio nodded.

'There was a picture of me up there, set up in this triangle carved on the floor, my eyes were crossed out.'

'That was a dream Peter,' Elio said gently.

His roommate huffed, getting annoyed now. 'So what about the video then, you saw it! Have you ever seen a seizure like that before?'

Elio swallowed, feeling as though he was watching a mental breakdown happen before his eyes.

'I heard that noise just before it, Charlie's clicking thing, like something was trying to- get in.'

'Like a possesion?'

Peter shrugged. 'Says it needs a male host.'

Elio watched him. 'I think you should talk to your Dad, just tell him what's going on-'

Peter shook his head. 'Don't say that Elio please, I need you to believe me,' he said, taking his hand forcefully, his grip like a vice; scaring him further. 'Please,' he begged.

Elio said nothing, unable to relinquish his hand.

'If you don't call him, I will,' he said.

Peter dropped his hand, betrayed. 'No you can't. They'll just put me on medication.'

'Well, maybe that would help.'

'Come on man, I don't need this shit from you.'

'Hey, just take it easy ok?' Elio said, taking Peter's hands in his, trying to soothe him.

Peter pulled back from him, got up and left the room. 


	7. Last

Elio took to researching while Peter wasn't around, he knew it wasn't the smartest idea; especially since he couldn't trust online sources to diagnose his friend reliably, but he wanted some sense of what he was dealing with. From what he could deduce, it seemed that Peter was paranoid and delusional, but beyond that Elio didn't know. Twice he had called his father and hung up, sensing that Peter might never speak to him if he went through with going behind his back.

There was one more night of lucidity before the end; which was the memory Elio choose to return to whenever he thought of Peter. He was already in bed, playing a game on his phone when his roommate came in.

'I didn't wake you did I?' he asked.

'No, not asleep yet,' Elio replied, putting his phone away and sitting up. 'You ok?' he asked, feeling the need to say this whenever he saw Peter now.

'Yeah, just tired,' he replied. Peter got changed into his pyjamas, he dispensed with getting ready in the bathroom these days as they'd all ready seen all of each other.

'They never shut up about those fucking exams do they?'

Elio smiled. 'Nope.'

'You gonna go back to Italy for the summer?'

'Yeah. Think I need a break from the city.'

'Right? Wish I had a villa by the river.'

'You should come sometime, my parents would love to have you.'

'Would I get to meet the famous Mafalda?'

'Of course,' Elio laughed. 'You can try all her best meals.'

Peter smiled, pulling his night shirt on, he stood for a moment, not getting into bed straight away.

'Sorry about the other day by the way. Didn't mean to freak you out.'

'It's ok.'

'Dad got a hold of me, we talked through everything.'

Elio nodded. 'I'm glad,' he said, then pulled his bedcovers back. 'You wanna get in here?'

Peter jumped in, crushing Elio then tickling him and smothering him with kisses. Elio laughed, so relieved that Peter appeared more stable than he'd been in some time. He scooted over to the corner of the single bed to make room, Peter lay down next to him; pecking his lips the way Elio had done for the very first time, some months ago now. He rested his head on the pillow then, and Elio turned to face him, looking into his eyes, admiring him.

'I didn't think I could ever like a guy like this,' Peter said quietly.

'Well I'm glad you changed your mind,' he replied, making him smile.

'I hope my Mom's ok,' Peter thought aloud, suprising him.

'She will be, you will be too.'

'I hope so.'

Elio smiled, leaning closer and silencing his doubts with a kiss.


	8. Pandemonium

It was Peter convulsing next to him that woke Elio up. He felt the tightening of muscles - the straining of his whole body and heard his ragged breath.

'Peter!' he yelled, sitting up, terrified, unsure if touching him would help or make it worse. His face was contorted, like it had been in the video, one arm raised, his jaw appearing dislocated.

'Someone help!' Elio screamed, hoping someone next door would hear him.

He picked a glass of water from the bedside table hoping that throwing it over him would end the seizure but it made no difference. 'Peter!' he shouted once more, trying to shake him awake. His force knocked the boy onto the floor, the impact seeming to make it stop. Elio got out of bed, his heart racing. He got down on the floor, sitting next to Peter who was shaking but no longer seized up. Elio turned him over, wiping the spit from his face.

'You're ok now, it's over,' he said, cradling him in his arms.

'What happened?' Peter asked, still catching his breath.

'You had a seizure.'

'What?' he replied, frightened.

'It's alright, it's stopped now, you're ok.'

Elio grabbed the remaining glass of water from the bedside table and gave it to him, letting him drink; then helped him across to his own bed.

Peter lay down, still in shock.

'I'm gonna call your Dad,' Elio said, reaching for Peter's own phone from the bedside table. He tried Mr. Graham's cell, then the house phone, then his mother as a last resort. None of them answered. This too sent a worried chill down Elio's spine, but he ignored it.

'Ok, they're not picking up, but I'll try again in a few minutes, they're probably just asleep; let's get you to the campus hospital.'

Elio helped Peter to get dressed, got dressed himself and walked the other boy towards the hospital wing.

He filled them in on what happened, waiting until they told them they would keep Peter in for observation over night. They tried his parents too and got no repsonse. Elio found himself irrationally angry with them - thinking that a family who'd lost their daughter in such tragic circumstances would be more concerned about their remaining child.

Elio went back to the dorm and barely slept; in the morning he went to class, something he definintely would have blown off had it not been mandatory. He texted Peter along the way and got a response about half an hour later.

'Doing ok, going back to dorm for rest. Talk later; thanks for looking after me x.'

Well that was a relief, at least he was recovering quickly. When Elio returned from class Peter was there, not sleeping, but sitting on the edge of the bed staring blankly ahead - something that Elio now realised was a symptom of his PTSD. Instantly dread filled him. He dropped his backpack on the ground.

'Are you feeling better?' he asked tentatively.

Peter didn't respond for a moment.

'She killed him,' he then said, his voice unrecognisable.

'What?'

'She set him on fire.'

Elio's jaw dropped, he covered his mouth.

'She said that it was the notebook, that she tried to burn Charlie's notebook to make it stop but it took Dad instead of her.'

Elio felt his throat constrict; the monotone, defeated voice that Peter spoke with much more gut wrenching than if he'd been emotional.

'They arrested her.'

Elio stepped closer; unable to speak. There was nothing he could say at this point that would help; he didn't seem to have the ability to access his voice even if he could find the right words.

'It was just like in the dream. Remember? I found him just before she chased me; he'd been burned.'

Elio sat across from him, shaking his head.

'It tried to get in last night, just like before. You were there, you felt it.'

'You can't believe that, that's not what happened.'

'Then what did happen? My mom just killed my Dad because she's crazy? You think I'm crazy?'

'You're in shock, which is understandable but-'

'The only reason it didn't get in last night was because you pushed me to the floor. If it tries again I can't stop it.'

Elio shook his head. 'Let's go back to the hospital,' he said, 'let's try to someone you can talk to; a grief counsellor or something-'

'No one can help me. It's gonna happen no matter what I do.'

Elio watched him, knowing he was far out of his depth; he needed to call someone, but there was no way to do with without Peter seeing.

'You don't have to do anything,' Elio said, getting up and pulling him into a hug.

Peter hugged back, but mechanically, like a wooden doll who'd been forced into the position, there was no warmth there at all. He could almost feel the despair raditing from Peter in waves. He couldn't blame him, if his mother had done the same- well it didn't bear thinking about.

'I'm gonna call someone,' Elio said, pulling back from him. 'They're gonna come and help ok?'

Peter looked at him, thorugh him; barely registering that he'd even spoken.

'I'll be back in a second, don't go anywhere,' he instructed, though the only place there was to go was the bathroom. Elio kissed his forehead, then left the room, not wanting Peter to overhear, even in his almost catatonic state.

Elio called the counselling support helpline and explained the situation to a receptionist who cut him off, saying she'd pass him on to someone who was better equiped to help.

Elio waited, nervous about the amount of time this was taking.

'Sorry for the wait, how can I help?' a new voice said about five minutes later.

Elio explained again, annoyed by the amount of detail he had to go into for them to acess whether this was worth their time or not. Eventually she said they'd send someone down when Elio stated that he wasn't sure he could persaude Peter to come to them.

He hung up the phone, grateful that a professional was on the way. He re-entered the dorm, panicking a little when he saw the en-suite door closed and Peter no where in sight. He took a breath and walked towards it, giving it a gentle knock.

'Peter? Are you alright in there?'

There was no response; sending his adreanaline spiking.

'Peter?' he asked again, turning the door handle which was locked of course.

'Come on, I just need to know that you're ok.'

'I'm fine,' he said. 'Give me a few minutes ok?'

Elio swallowed, backing away from the door. He sat on the bed, restless, not as relieved as he'd hoped he'd been by Peter's response; especially not when he didn't exit the bathroom after another five minutes.

'Come on man are you jerking off in there?' he joked nervously after another minute, checking his watch, wondering how long it would take before someone showed up.

Peter didn't respond.

'What are you doing? You're freaking me out now.'

There was more silence, followed by a sustained groan of agony.

'What the fuck? What happened?!' he demanded.

There was a scream this time; a visceral pained sound, like a wounded animal.

'Peter!' Elio yelled, banging on the door. 'Open the door, let me in!'


	9. Eye

The screams continued - terrifying Elio - banging on the bathroom door so hard he almost missed the knock on the dorm room entrance.

He ran over, opening it as quick as he could. 'He's locked himself in the bathroom. Please, you have to get him out!' Elio said desperately.

The two counsellors looked from one to the other, weighing up the situation when they heard the wailing from inside the bathroom. They both came inside.

'Is that Peter? My name is Julie, I'm here to talk to you, can you come out of the bathroom?' one of them asked while the other approached the door, taking a bank card from his wallet, slotting it in the small gap in the door.

The screaming had tapered off to a low sobbing. What had he done? Elio wondered, horrified by the possible answers. He didn't respond to Julie either.

The man swung open door and Elio rushed in before they could hold him back, first he saw the dark red spatters everywhere, on the mirror, all over the sink a something white and jelly-like amongst the puddle, and there was Peter, his hands shaking, a newly recorated pen knife in his hands that had once been green, now blending with what soaked into his sleeves. Elio clapped both hands to his mouth when he saw the source of all this blood; the hole in the left side of Peter's face where his eye had been. He retched when he realised what the jelly ball in the sink was.

The male counsellor gently put firmly pulled him out of the room while the female counsellor rushed in, asking calmly for Peter to give her the pen knife. Elio collapsed onto his bed, struggling to keep from vomiting. The counsellor stood before him.

'You did the right thing calling us when you did.'

'Why didn't you get here sooner? He's fucking blinded himself!'

The counsellor only looked at him, apparently feeling this outburst was more than appropriate.

Elio watched him leave for the bathroom without seeing him, his vision was entirely clouded, instead he saw Peter's eye in the sink, the bloody hole in his face; feeling responsible. There was a commotion in the bathroom, one Elio couldn't bring himself to disrupt. The next thing he saw was his friend and sometimes lover; always roommate - being dragged out by the two counsellors who'd already sedated him. They lay him gently down on his bed, then placed a tissue over the hole of the eye he'd gouged out; as if that made it any less disturbing. Julie sat next to him, sincerely apologised for their lateness, told him he may have just saved his friend's life. To Elio this was hollow, especially considering that if he'd just stayed in the room with Peter he'd never have been able to do it in the first place. Elio called his parents after the incident, booked a flight home that weekend, decided he'd finish the rest of the term in the summer.

He visited Peter on his last day in hospital. He sat up in his bed, phone in hand, staring into it with his remaining eye, the other side of his face a mess of sanitised bandages.

'I'm going home tomorrow,' he said. 'Just in time for my Dad's funeral.'

It was a long time before Elio found himself able to reply to this. 'Are you coming back?'

Peter shook his head.

'You're dropping out?'

Peter turned to him. 'It won't be up to me,' he said.

Elio frowned.

'Why didn't you let me finish?' he asked, putting the phone down.

Elio said nothing, a sinisiter chill passing through him.

'I thought that'd I'd have to kill myself to stop it; but then I figured it probably needs to be able to see right? Why take me if there's a better host out there?'

He felt his eyes moisten, he blinked the unshed tears away.

'That's why you did it?'

'I'd rather be blind than host to some fucking demon.'

Elio felt his throat constrict. He swallowed, trying to think of a new subject, he didn't want their last conversation to end like this.

'Is your mom going to the funeral?'

He shrugged. 'It's a whole shitshow. She wants to obviously, but Dad's family don't because of well, y'know.'

Elio took out a tissue, blew his nose.

'Why are you crying?' Peter asked him. 'You've got your Italian villa and your perfect parents to go back to.'

'I'm so sorry Peter.'

Peter looked at him for a long time before speaking again. 'Well you should be,' he said.

'You ruined my one chance to stop it. And now I'll be at the funeral, where I bet it's going to happen 'cause where else? They'll probably kill my Mom too for good measure for holding everything up for so long.'

Elio tried his best to hold back the tears; Peter's commitment to his delusion destroying him.

'I hate seeing you like this.'

'And I hate seeing,' he replied, punctuated by a single bitter laugh, then picked up his phone once more.

'I hope you get better,' Elio said, placing his hand tenderly on Peter's.

The other boy looked down at it disdainfully, but didn't move it.

'And I hope I see you again some time.'

'You won't,' he replied. 'And if you do it won't be me.'

Peter surprised Elio then by turning his hand over, and giving it a small, affectionate squeeze.

'I should go,' Elio said, Peter responded to this with a nod, let go of his hand and returned to his phone. Elio gave a tight smile, then walked away; feeling a new kind of heartbreak.


	10. Later

'Have you seen him again?' Marzia asked him, the following August when he'd returned from finishing his incomplete term at college.

Elio shook his head. 'No. All his social media is inactive. It's like he just disappeared.'

'Maybe he's in counselling and they told him take a break from being online.'

'Maybe,' he replied.

He could feel Marzia's eyes on him, gauging his reaction; seeing right through him just like she always did. She didn't say anything for a long time.

'Do you wonder if he was right sometimes?'

He let that hang in the air for a moment before replying, then shrugged.

'He couldn't be. There's no way.'

Marzia kept her eyes on him, he looked up to meet them.

'What do you think?'

'I think he sounds like someone who has a lot of hardship to deal with and I hope he's getting the help he needs.'

'Me too,' Elio replied; though this hope didn't extend too far.

When he thought of Oliver and his regular life with his wife and maybe even a kid on the way by now; his heart ached and filled him with a sadness he sometimes couldn't shake for days. But he could turn these thoughts into something bittersweet; hold onto those memories and refuse to let the present taint the past. They'd had something beautiful; and whatever happened now that would remain unchanged.

When he thought of Peter, in contrast; there was nothing but despair. Elio knew without having to be certain that wherever Peter was now it could not be a good place. The beauty and magic of the world he'd discovered with Oliver had been overtaken by the dread and horror he felt when he thought of his former roommate.

He didn't believe in whatever sinister cult his friend's troubled mind had invented; but sometimes at night when he couldn't sleep he second guessed this rational thought. Sometimes he dreamed that Peter was out there somewhere; still occupying a a small fraction of his colonised body; begging for Elio to help him; to kill him so his soul could be set free from the demon that possessed him.


End file.
